June 6, 2007
Students boost caregiver program
By DUNSTAN PRIAL
STAFF WRITER
Imagine what 64 groups of students from the top college public relations programs could do to raise awareness for a worthy cause, and your company.
That's precisely the scenario Woodcliff Lake-based drug maker Eisai Inc. found itself in recently after the Public Relations Student Society of America chose an outreach program for family caregivers launched by Eisai a decade ago as the centerpiece of its annual Bateman Case Study Competition.
Family Caregiving 101 is an educational and resource program sponsored by Eisai in partnership with the National Family Caregivers Association and the National Alliance for Caregiving.
Its centerpiece, the Web site familycaregiving101.org, offers resource information, support and practical advice to the nation's 50 million family caregivers, said Eisai's Cathy Pollini.
Each of the 64 student groups competing in the Bateman competition was asked to create a public relations campaign designed to raise awareness of the Family Caregiving 101 program.
The winning entry, designed by a group of students from the University of Georgia, was judged for its implementation, which included the research and planning that went into the campaign, its effectiveness in reaching its target audience and its creativity.
A "hands on" project rather than simply an academic exer- cise, students were required to create an actual public rela- tions campaign that connected family caregivers to local and national resources available to them.
The University of Georgia team was recognized for tactics that included press materials that drew the attention of local media, a well-attended family caregiver resource fair and a community Web site that registered more than 1,000 visits over the course of the campaign.
"I'm proud of the work my students put in to execute a strategic campaign that really helped local family caregivers," said Karen Miller Russell, associate professor at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.
Second prize went to students from California State University at Fullerton, and third prize to students from Elon University in North Carolina.
"All three finalist teams presented excellent campaigns and it was clear that the students devoted a significant amount of time and energy to this worthwhile program," said Eisai's Pollini.
As the U.S. population ages, the number of family caregivers will rise, Pollini said.
Eisai is a company familiar with the role of caregivers. Its lead product is Aricept, a blockbuster Alzheimer's treatment introduced 10 years ago.
Although Alzheimer's is a disease for which family caregiving has grown prevalent, the Family Caregiving 101 program is "not product or disease state specific," Pollini said. "There are many conditions, particularly neurology and oncology related, where there is a key role for the family caregiver," she added.
According to the National Family Caregiver Association, the typical family caregiver is a 46-year-old woman with a job and some college education who is caring for her 75-year-old widowed mother who lives nearby.
One of the reasons Eisai helped established Family Caregiving 101 was because so many family caregivers don't see themselves as such, said Pollini. Instead, they view themselves as merely fulfilling their responsibilities to a loved one.
Consequently, they often feel isolated and suffer from depression brought on by the stress associated with providing care for an ill family member while also holding down a job and meeting the needs of their immediate family.
Family Caregiving 101 lets them know that "they're not alone," said Pollini. Moreover, it offers helpful resource information caregivers may have overlooked and which ultimately serves "the best interests of their loved one."